Rovi extends patent licence with Funai

Rovi has renewed its discovery patent portfolio licence agreement with Funai Electric, covering Japan and Europe. The cross-regional licences enable Funai to use Rovi’s patent portfolio for high-quality digital consumer electronics, giving Funai access to a range of Rovi’s best-in-class discovery features including intuitive search and targeted recommendations services. The announcement further builds upon Funai’s existing North American IP licence agreement.

In addition, Funai now has the right to adopt Rovi’s G-Guide HTML in Japan. The G-Guide HTML features advanced discovery capabilities, such as search functionality and a browser-based interface, to help drive a robust consumer entertainment experience across Funai’s TVs and Blu-ray disc recorder products. The Rovi G-Guide HTML also boasts a TV listing grid designed to showcase images including cast photos and Rovi’s “six-degrees” discovery capability to help consumers quickly find relevant content that interests them.

“As one of the global leaders in consumer electronics, our license renewal and expansion with Funai reinforces Rovi’s leadership in bringing innovative entertainment discovery experiences to market,” said Samir Armaly, executive vice president, intellectual property and licensing, Rovi. “This collaboration underscores the value of Rovi’s patents and product solutions to Funai, including lower development costs and the ability to offer G-Guide’s advanced features to its customer base.”